Rankings rise and conference accolades

Photo by Jackson Forderer

Minnesota State moved up to No. 7 in the USCHO poll and No. 8 in the USA Today rankings following its sweep over Boston University over the weekend. The Mavericks had been ranked 11th, and the Terriers were No. 8. BU dropped to No. 13 and No. 15, respectively. North Dakota, MSU's next opponent, is 16th in the USCHO rankings after losing to and tying Bemidji State.

Meanwhile, the Mavericks got a couple of WCHA weekly awards after their two wins, with defenseman Riese Zmolek and goaltender Dryden McKay taking Defenseman of the Week and Rookie of the Week, respectively. Zmolek had a goal and two assists, blocked five shots and was plus-3 for the weekend. McKay stopped 49 of 55 shots and became the first freshman goalie to start and win in MSU's opening game since Ken Higert in 1984. You can read more about McKay's weekend here.

Finally, my Tuesday column can be found here. This week's topic: MSU's sweep was no upset, just a good early season test between two good teams.